Administrative Law Matters

The federal government’s use of an omnibus budget bill to enact measures affecting a variety of different areas has come under sustained attack(you can also listen to the comments of my colleague, Stéphane Beaulac, from the three-minute mark here). Whatever one thinks about the substance of the underlying reforms, one can certainly quibble about the […] Read more

Last week the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld against constitutional challenge a delegation of power to Amtrak to develop performance standards. One of the grounds on which the challengers in Association of American Railroads v. Department of Transportation relied was that Amtrak was a private entity. American constitutional law doctrine looks […] Read more

Another example, this time from the Manitoba Court of Appeal, of a decision-maker stretching language too far. In Darcis v. Manitoba, 2012 MBCA 49, an arbitrator was the guilty party, in respect of an agreement concluded between the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, Canada, Manitoba and the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board. This agreement was an exception to a […] Read more

Administrative agencies are generally entitled to develop policies. Doing so assists agencies in discharging their statutory mandates in a coherent and consistent manner. Those who come into contact with agencies also benefit: it ought to be easier to predict the application of a general rule than the exercise of discretion. From the Court of Appeal […] Read more

Professor Gillian Metzger has an excellent paper on a topic comparatively neglected by American administrative law scholars: the common law nature of judicial review doctrine. The abstract: This article begins with the descriptive claim that much of administrative law is really administrative common law: doctrines and requirements that are largely judicially created, as opposed to […] Read more

In describing the deferential standard of review of reasonableness in Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick, the Supreme Court of Canada was very eloquent. Where a standard of review of correctness is appropriate, the reviewing court substitutes its judgment for that of the initial decision-maker. But where deference is owed, A court conducting a review for reasonableness […] Read more

The literature on the establishment and operation of administrative agencies is voluminous. Even the destruction of agencies – deregulation – has inspired eloquent words. Less ink has been spilled about the consequences of deregulation. The impending argument over the abolition of the Long-Gun Registry is an example of destruction and deregulation giving rise to litigation. […] Read more

An ever-present issue in debates over constitutional law doctrine in the United States is whether corporations should be capable of enjoying constitutional rights. Concern about the equation of natural and legal persons is not unique to American jurists, however. A federal court judge in Canada has stated in strong terms that corporations are not entitled […] Read more

Via Canadian Appeals Monitor, word that the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal from the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeals in Sally Behn v. Moulton Contracting Ltd. The primary issue here will be whether individual members of a First Nation can rely on a breach of the duty to […] Read more

The UK Supreme Court’s decision of last week in Humphreys v Revenue Commissioners puts me to thinking about sliding scales. These are quite common in public law. At base, the idea is that greater scrutiny will be paid to decisions (or statutory provisions) in some circumstances, and less in others. Old world administrative lawyers will […] Read more